RATINGS RAT RACE: Modest Start For 'GCB'

ABC’s new soapy dramedyGCB launched last night with a modest 2.2/6 among adults 18-49 and 7.6 million total viewers. That was down 29% in the demo from the debut of Pan Am in the Sunday 10 PM slot in September. Lead-in retention-wise, GCB held onto 88% of the demo number for Desperate Housewives, to which it is hailed as a successor. (For Pan Am, retention was 100%). As for Desperate Housewives (2.5/6), the veteran seems to be picking up momentum as it heads to its series finale in May, up 14% from last week. At 8 PM, freshman hit Once Upon A Time (3.4/9) was up 10% as was America’s Funniest Home Videos (2.2/6). With no football or awards specials, Once Upon A Time ranked as the top program of the night in 18-49. ABC (2.6/7, 8.6 million) won the night in 18-49, matching its best Sunday demo finish in a year.

At 10 PM, GCB finished behind NBC’s The Apprentice (2.4/6 in the hour) but ahead of CBS’ CSI: Miami (2.0/5, down 9% from two weeks ago). Two-hour The Celebrity Apprentice from 9-11 PM posted a 2.3/6, up 28% from last week when it faced the Oscars. Also rebounding big from last week was CBS’ The Amazing Race (2.8/7, up 27%) at 8 PM. But The Good Wife (1.8/4) at 9 PM was down 14% from two weeks ago. CBS (2.1/5, 10.4 million) still won the night in total viewers. Fox’s lineup was mostly status quo with the exception of The Cleveland Show (1.6/4) at 8:30 PM, which was up 33% from two weeks ago. The Simpsons (2.5/7) was down 4%, Napoleon Dynamite (2.0/5) and Family Guy (2.8/7) were flat, and American Dad (2.1/5) was down 5%.